). I have some very interesting stuff to share. Crazy, but definitely interesting. I do remember some of you having a discussion about how to make better tennis players. I have the answer right here. But first I must tell you, two months ago I was a pretty talentless tennis player. Today I can play like Federer. This is not a joke, and it is not an exaggeration. My tennis has improved beyind belief through simple meditation ie developing the ability to not think. I have been practising meditation for two years now. It started out as a way to kick my smoking habit (
) , but I never realised just how powerful it is. Two months ago I had my first glimpse of the immense powers of the mind. I won't tell you what happened because it'll sound crazy, and I have plenty more crazy stuff to tell you anyway. Let me tell you, every one of us uses less than ten percent of our brain. The other 90% is capable of things you could never imagine.Two weeks ago something incredible happened to me. I learned how to go into suspended animation. Its is a state in which the body shuts down completely. It is in fact the state between life and death. I was wondering whether i'd fallen asleep, but it was so much more intense than that. I asked a freind of mine to keep an eye on me to see what exactly I was doing. He said I stopped breathing completely and I stayed like that for 14 minutes. He even threw a glass of water over me b/c he thought I'd die if I didn't breath. I was completely oblivious, and i'm still very much alive. Suspended animation is the most intense form of meditation that the brain is capable of (think about it. 14 minutes without air). There are very few people in the world who have experienced it. Even many people who teach mediation haven't experienced it. I was very lucky.
This is the incredible part: ever since that day I have been able to hit Sania's forehand. Not merely a shot similiar to it, but the exact same shot! From the wrist-snap to the posture, to the timing, to the incredible power, to the stillness of the head everything is identical. I have a single handed backhand which used to be a pretty poor shot. Not anymore. It is now almost identical to Roger Federer's backhand, but I think the timing of the shot is a little better than his. It is what his backhand could have been had he been gifted with the perfect backhand instead of the forehand. My slice backhand, and posture is very similiar too. Like him I hold my head still, back straight at all times, and my balance is perfect. Add topspin and Sania's forehand turns into Federer's. Hit the ball late, and it turns into Steffi's. I have to say that having hit both, sania's forehand is actually slightly better than steffi's.
So what does it all mean? What it means is that when it comes to hitting a tennis-ball roger and sania have the most intense form of concentration that the brain is capable of, and that is why Federer is considered technically the greatest talent the game has ever seen. From the concentration comes the timing, the perfect muscular co-ordination, the perfect posture, and from all that comes the wrist-snap that sets him apart from the tour.
There are plenty of players who time the ball very well (Justine, Baghy, agassi etc.), so what sets Roger apart? Roger is not merely a good timer of the ball, his timing is absolute perfection (i'll say it because i've experienced what it feels like to time the ball like him). What is the difference between his level of concentration and agassi's?
To understand that you need to take a look at some photographs of tennis players hitting the ball, or you have to know what an expressionless face looks like. The first part of meditation is about learning to empty your mind of thought and focus on a single object. I learned using a candle. Even this part is very difficult. Most people take a couple of years to learn how to focus on a single thing for a even few minutes. Invariably you'll find yourself frowning with the effort of focusing on one thing and one thing only. This is what top players have the ability to do. They have the ability to focus only on the ball and the shot they are going to play, and that is why they are so good at hitting the ball. Most of them from Steffi, to agassi to Sampras focus on a single thing, and the effort shows on their face. They have single-pointed concentration.
What do you notice about Federer? This is strange part. Federer's face, and sania's are almost expressionless. For them, hitting the ball is effortless.
The most advanced form of meditation is about learning to focus on absolutely nothing. Its is that absolute blankness inside us that you all experience in the few moments before you fall asleep (and thats why sleep is so relaxing). In advanced meditation you can hold on to it without falling asleep, and it is much more intense. When I first started to hold onto the blankness (this is where the expression 'as black as death' comes from), I noticed that my face started to change. I felt as if my skin was being stretched and pulled. I realised that for the first time in my life my facial muscles were completely relaxed. All the creases have disappeared, and now my face is always expressionless because I've learned to stay thoughtless even with my eyes open (trust me, this stuff works better than Botox!). In the last month I have seen only 3 people with an expressionless face because as I said, all of us just think too much to ever tap into our potential.This is what separates genius from the rest of us.
The most intense form of mediation is about losing yourself in that blankness (suspended animation) so that the concious brain ceases to exist for a few minutes. When you do that you can start to tap into the most advanced centres of the brain. And that is how I learned to play like Federer. Federer doesn't play with his concious brain. He plays tennis using the most advanced parts of his subconcious brain. He was gifted with the ability to focus on the blankness inside him when he hits the ball, and thats how he can do things that no-one else can. The purest form of concentration is so intense that it is completely effortless, and that is why sania and federer's faces are almost expressionless. Having hit sania's forehand (and her double-handed backhand is a killer too. I started hitting some unbelievable angles, but I prefer a one-hander), I can tell you that the shot is completely effortless. The kind of power you can generate from just perfect timing is simply unbelievable. The difference in timing between Federer's forehand and sampras is just a thousanth of a second. It is that level of concentration that separates genius from mere champions.
This is why sania can barely seem to win matches anymore, and why federer spent his youth as a headcase. Its incredibly difficult to focus on nothing for any length of time. She improves her attention span through practice. Practice is a very primitive form of meditation because you focus on your work during practice. Through actual meditation you can improve your attention span infinitely faster, and learn new shots at record-breaking pace. In two weeks I've learned to hit some of the shots that it took Federer a decade to learn. Its just that simple when you stop thinking.
This post may sound insane, but I promise that every word I have typed is the gospel truth. I am not exaggerating in any way. Everyone on the planet has a Federer, or a Ronaldinho inside their heads. You want champions? Get players to mediate. You won't find too many who can focus on nothing, but you'll certainly find a few who can focus on the ball.
. Instead of it sitting idly in my garage, i would love to have someone put it to more productive use